:Orthanc and [[Barad-dûr]] are presented as ''The Two Towers'' identified in the title of the film. Tolkien himself was never certain about which towers two towers ''The Two Towers'' referred to; in [[Letter 140]] noted his disapproval of the title itself but also stated that the title was deliberately ambiguous. Indeed it could refer to Orthanc and Barad-dûr, Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and Cirith Ungol.<ref>{{L|140}};{{L|143}}</ref> Later Tolkien seemed to settle with Orthanc and Minas Morgul in his original design for the jacket of ''The Two Towers''.<ref>{{L|140|1}}</ref> However the producers of ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' decided that, for theatrical and stylistic purposes, ''The Two Towers'' should refer to the towers of Orthanc and Barad-dûr.

:Orthanc and [[Barad-dûr]] are presented as ''The Two Towers'' identified in the title of the film. Tolkien himself was never certain about which towers two towers ''The Two Towers'' referred to; in [[Letter 140]] noted his disapproval of the title itself but also stated that the title was deliberately ambiguous. Indeed it could refer to Orthanc and Barad-dûr, Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and Cirith Ungol.<ref>{{L|140}};{{L|143}}</ref> Later Tolkien seemed to settle with Orthanc and Minas Morgul in his original design for the jacket of ''The Two Towers''.<ref>{{L|140|1}}</ref> However the producers of ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' decided that, for theatrical and stylistic purposes, ''The Two Towers'' should refer to the towers of Orthanc and Barad-dûr.

Contents

Description

The tower of Orthanc stood in the centre of the Ring of Isengard, roughly half a mile from the rim. At its peak the tower reached a height of just over five hundred feet. The colour of the rock was a deep, gleaming black. At Orthanc's pinnacle the four piers which composed the tower opened out to form four pinnacles of sharp rock; between these isles of rock there was a narrow, polished floor on which many strange signs were written.[5]

There stood a tower of marvellous shape. It was fashioned by the builders of old, who smoothed the Ring of Isengard, and yet it seemed a thing not made by the craft of Men, but riven from the bones of the earth in the ancient torment of the hills. A peak and isle of rock it was, black and gleaming hard: four mighty piers of many-sided stone were welded into one, but near the summit they opened into gaping horns, their pinnacles sharp as the points of spears, keen-edged as knives. Between them was a narrow space, and there upon a floor of polished stone, written with strange signs, a man might stand five hundred feet above the plain.—J.R.R. Tolkien[5]

Third Age

The region of Calenardhon was never densely populated; indeed it suffered greatly in the Dark Plague of T.A.1636 and many inhabitants of Númenórian descent gradually migrated eastward. Eventually the tower of Orthanc itself became deserted, and its keys were removed to Minas Tirith and held in the keeping of the Stewards.[8]

In T.A.2510,[1] after the Battle of the Field of Celebrant, the lands of Calenardhon were ceded to the Éothéod and Eorl became the first king of Rohan. Nonetheless Gondor retained control of the fortress of Isengard, and Orthanc remained the third tower of the southern realm. During this time Isengard was manned by a small number of Gondorians led by a hereditary Captain. However the keys of Orthanc were kept by the Stewards of Gondor.[9]

Over time the links and correspondence between Isengard and Minas Tirith became ever more infrequent; whilst retaining the keys of Orthanc, the Stewards forsook the tower as their thoughts looked eastwards. Eventually the line of Gondorian chieftains failed and the people mingled ever more with the Dunlendings. They even allowed them entry into Isengard and eventually the two peoples willingly merged into one. Thus it was that Isengard came under the control of the Dunlendings who led numerous raids on the Westfold. Whilst the Rohirrim had not the strength to assail the fortress, the Dunlendings were eventually starved out in the great famine after the Long Winter. Therefore both King Fréaláf and Steward Beren greatly welcomed Saruman's offer to take command of Isengard. Thus it was that, in T.A.2759,[10] the wizard was given the keys of Orthanc.[1]

Saruman began to desire the ring for himself and hoped that it might reveal itself by giving Sauron time to re-gain his strength. As head of the White Council, Saruman overruled Gandalf's call for an attack on Dol Guldur in T.A.2851. However, in T.A.2941, after Saruman discovered that the servants of Sauron were searching for the ring near Gladden Fields, he agreed to attack Sauron's fortress in Mirkwood. After the last meeting of the White Council in T.A.2953, Saruman withdrew to Isengard and fortified it. It was in circaT.A.3000 that Saruman used the Orthanc-stone for the first time. Thus it was that Sauron corrupted Saruman's mind and bent it to his will.[11]

Gandalf the Grey caught like a fly in a spider's treacherous web!—Gandalf[12]

In T.A.3018, Gandalf rode to the foot of Orthanc and there met Saruman. It was then that Saruman revealed his true thoughts to Gandalf. He declared his desire to become a ruler of Men and to join with Sauron. But, most importantly, he announced his desire for the The One Ring. Gandalf refused to submit to Sauron and Saruman. Subsequently, Saruman had Gandalf taken to the pinnacle of Orthanc where, Saruman schemed, Gandalf would stay until he reveal the location of the ring or until Sauron reclaimed it for himself. There Gandalf was trapped and for the first time he saw wolves and orcs in the valley of Isengard below. After many weeks of imprisonment,[note 1] Gandalf escaped as Gwaihir the Great Eagle came unlooked-for to Orthanc and bore him away.[12]

However, their attacks on Orthanc proved futile because the rock of the tower was too hard for the Ents to damage. Therein Saruman remained.[14] On 5 March, Théoden, Éomer, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli approached the foot of Orthanc and climbed its stair until they reached the door. There they parleyed with Saruman, who remained inside the tower and spoke to them from a balcony above the door. Saruman refused to co-operate and subsequently Gandalf cast him from the order of Wizards and the White Council, and broke Saruman's staff. After this confrontation, Gríma Wormtongue, who was also inside Orthanc, threw the palantír of Orthanc at the party outside as a parting shot.[3]

A week before before 22 August, T.A.3019,[13] when King Elessar and company arrived at Orthanc, Saruman had departed Isengard with Gríma Wormtongue. However, before he left, Treebeard made him lock the tower and hand over the keys of Orthanc.[2]

Fourth Age

One of King Elessar's first tasks in the re-ordering of his realm was the restoration of Orthanc. He ordered that the palantír recovered from Saruman should be returned to the tower. It was then that the tower was searched and many secrets were revealed. It became clear that Saruman had hoarded many ancient treasures and heirlooms. They found that, with the aid of Wormtongue, Saruman had acquired jewels and heirlooms of Eorl. With the help of Gimli a hidden door was found and opened. Inside a casket found on a shelf they found two precious items. One was a small golden case attached to a chain; this was used by Isildur to bear the One Ring. The second item in the casket was the Elendilmir, the "white star of Elvish crystal upon a fillet of mithril" that had been lost since Isildur's demise. Elessar recieved the Elemdilmir with reverence and took it with him as he established his full kingship of Arnor. It was clear that Saruman had found the remains of Isildur and that he had probably burned the body.[1]

In Old English, Orthanc is said to mean "Cunning Mind".[5]Hammond and Scull has noted that Old English orþanc as a noun means "original, inborn thought" or "a skilful contrivance or work, artifice, device, design"; as an adjective it means "cunning, skilful".[15]

In the published text, Orthanc is said to mean "Mount Fang" in Elvish.[5] In other sources, the name is glossed as "forked-height".[15][17] The name is likely supposed to be Sindarin,[15] consisting of or + thanc.[18]

Films

Orthanc and Barad-dûr are presented as The Two Towers identified in the title of the film. Tolkien himself was never certain about which towers two towers The Two Towers referred to; in Letter 140 noted his disapproval of the title itself but also stated that the title was deliberately ambiguous. Indeed it could refer to Orthanc and Barad-dûr, Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and Cirith Ungol.[19] Later Tolkien seemed to settle with Orthanc and Minas Morgul in his original design for the jacket of The Two Towers.[20] However the producers of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers decided that, for theatrical and stylistic purposes, The Two Towers should refer to the towers of Orthanc and Barad-dûr.